Artificial intelligence: A tale of two lists

Each influencer list was compiled using slightly different methods. The first list was built based on analysis of Twitter profiles using the keywords “artificial intelligence”, whereas the second list was based on the recent use of the hashtag #AI on Twitter.

While there is some overlap, these lists are distinctly different. Both are included here because together they represent a broader and more comprehensive group of influencers on the topic.

Including more than one version of the AI influencers list also underscores a key point about list-making in general, namely the problem of subjectivity. Both lists are based on quantitative analysis, yet the choice of criteria used to compile the list (keywords like “artificial intelligence” or use of hashtags like #AI) is subjective. The first list may capture more recognized thought leaders on the topic, while the second list may capture people who are most active sharing content on the topic. Which is a more relevant influencer list? It depends, really.

And this subjectivity leads to a common question (sometimes a criticism) about influencer lists. Are the people on these lists, in fact, bona fide ‘influencers’ – are they authoritative and relevant? There will be a variety of opinions about each person listed. Some, it will be suggested, are simply more adept at gaming the system – and this may be true.

However, from a strictly quantitative perspective, and regardless of tactics, all of these people are among the most actively engaged in online sharing of AI information and participating in related conversations on topics such as machine learning, deep learning, big data, etc.

This is precisely why we create and publish these lists. If you want to stay abreast of developments in artificial intelligence and related topics or get the attention of influencers, thought leaders, and opinion makers on these topics, influencer lists can be an important tool for you and your business.

The ranking of the individual influencers is NOT the most important aspect of this or any other influencer list. Rather, the value lies in the collective identification of a network of people who are interested, influential and who have attracted an audience around the topic of artificial intelligence.

On methodology

We’ve used a third-party social analytics tool called Little Bird to crunch the influencer data. Then the influencers were sorted into two categories: people and organizations. For the purposes of these lists, the individual, human influencers are included, whereas the organizations are not. It is sometimes difficult to determine whether an account is a person or not, so mistakes can be made. Please reach out if you think we’ve made a mistake in classifying people vs organizations.

No additional filtering or manual selection of accounts has been done. So there is no need to thank anyone for including you on the list – you can thank the algorithm.